THE  YELLOW  PERIL 
IN  ACTION 

A  P0551BLL  CHAPTLR  IN  HISTORY 

Dedicated  to  the  Men  who  train  and  direct 
the  Men  behind  the  Guns 


BY 

MAR5DLN  MAN50N 


5AN  FRANCI5CO.  CALIFORNIA. 
JANUARY  2.  1907 


BRITTON  A.  REV.   PRINTERS.  S.  F 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


THE  YELLOW  PLRIL 
IN  ACTION 

A  P05SIBLL  CHAPTLR  IN  HI5TORY 

Dedicated  to  the  Men  who  train  and  direct 
the  Men  behind  the  Guns 


BY 

MARSDEX  MAXSOX. 


5AN 


FRANCI5CO,  CALIFORNIA. 
JANUARY.  1907 


Copyrighted  January  1907 

BY 

Marsden  Manson. 


PRLFACL 


The  indifference  with  which  our  people  and  Congress 
regard  the  development  of  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  prompts  the  writer  to  point  out  some  of  the  possibili- 
ties of  a  war  and  its  effects  upon  that  commerce  and  our 
industries.  Incidentally  other  matters  are  brought  in  which 
have  a  bearing  upon  these  and  upon  our  Naval  and  Military 
Power.  If  this  brochure  shall  serve  to  bring  about  a  better 
understanding  of  our  needs  and  a  recognition  of  their  im- 
portance, and  shall  tend  to  an  abandonment  of  our  policy 
of  neglect,  its  purpose  will  be  served. 


Dec.  22nd,  1906 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/yellowperilinactOOmans_0 


THE  YELLOW  PERIL  IN  ACTION 


A  POSSIBLE  CHAPTER  OF  HISTORY. 

Dedicated  to  the  Men  Who  Train  and  Direct  the  Men 
Behind  the  Guns. 

(Supposed  to  be  written  in  1912.) 

In  1908  the  friction  between  the  United  States  and 
China  became  severe,  and  only  by  great  forbearance  and 
concessions  had  the  actual  breaking  out  of  hostilities  been 
avoided. 

This  near  approach  to  war,  although  with  a  country 
having  no  navy  comparable  with  that  of  the  United  States, 
induced  the  Congress  meeting  in  ^larch,  1909,  to  make 
quite  liberal  appropriations  for  fortifications  at  ^Manila,  Pearl 
Harbor,  Guam,  Pago  Pago  and  Kisga.  On  the  basis  of 
these  appropriations  contracts  w^ere  let  for  materials,  coal 
and  supplies,  and  the  War  Department  w^as  ordered  to  go 
over  the  plans  prepared  many  years  ago  for  fortifications 
at  these  points  and  bring  them  up  to  the  most  modern 
requirements. 

It  appeared  tha:  the  unprepared  conditions  of  these 
vital  military  and  commercial  points  would  be  at  last 
remedied. 

In  the  winter  of  1909-10  China  resumed  the  practice  of 
"boycotting''  American  goods  and  materials ;  and,  American 
sailors  and  citizens  Avere  insulted  and  hooted  in  several 
Asiatic  cities.  In  two  or  three  instances  in  China,  where  the 
lack  of  raw  cotton  caused  factories  to  close,  severe  race 
riots  occurred,  followed  by  the  expulsion  of  all  American 
citizens  and  the  destruction  or  forfeiture  of  their  proper- 
ties. This  was  followed,  in  seeming  retaliation,  by  out- 
breaks of  a  similar  nature  in  San  Francisco  and  a  few  other 
Pacific  Coast  cities  and  towns.  Intense  bitterness  and  racial 
hatred  were  developed  and  in  the  riots  several  scores  on 
each  side  were  killed  and  wounded.  These  riots  were  not 
repressed  until  United  States  troops  and  marines  were 
brought  into  service. 

Counter  claims  for  indemnity  for  loss  of  property  and 
lives  were  presented  by  both  sides,  and  they  were  finally 
referred  to  a  court  of  Chinese  and  American  jurists,  which 
met  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina.  The  proceedings  were 
characterized  by  extreme  urbanity  at  first,  but  the  acrimony 
of  counsel  on  both  sides  involved  the  members  of  the  court 
in  very  bitter  and  caustic  debate.  The  President  then  with 
drew  the  American  members  of  the  court  to  Washington 


6 


for  further  instructions — thinking  also  that  a  few  weeks 
cahii  consideration  would  restore  a  better  state  of  mind  on 
both  sides.  The  Chinese  members  sullenly  remained  in  their 
hotel  quarters  and  the  Chinese  Ambassador  left  Asheville 
and  returned  to  Washington.  He  then  conducted  a  series 
of  wireless  communications  in  cipher  via  Vancouver  Island 
station  and  a  Chinese  cruiser  in  midocean,  which  transmit- 
ted these  via  Sakhalen  Island  to  China. 

On  the  13th  of  March,  1910,  the  Chinese  Ambassador 
directed  the  Chinese  members  of  the  court  to  return  to 
China  on  the  German  mail  steamer,  Kron  Prinz  \\'ilhelm 
III,  and  they  immediately  left  for  New  York  and  embarked 
on  the  15th. 

On  the  17th  he  handed  the  Secretary  of  State  a  declara- 
tion of  war  and  demanded  his  passports,  and  sailed  on  the 
morning  of  the  19th. 

The  country  was  thunderstruck,  China  had  no  navy  ol 
moment,  but  her  arm}^  under  Japanese  example  and  train- 
ing, had  been  put  in  a  high  state  of  efficiency,  and  her  two 
ordnance  works  had  been  turning  out  high  class  arms  and 
guns  for  several  years.  All  her  naval  stations  and  com- 
mercial cities  had  been  fortified  in  superb  style  and  large 
stores  and  munitions  of  war  were  said  to  be  on  hand. 

The  United  States  calmly  and  confidently  began  to  pre- 
pare for  war  with  an  Asiatic  foe.  The  general  plan  had 
been  laid  out  to  simply  and  effectively  blockade  Chinese 
ports  and  attack  her  commerce  until  she  came  to  reason. 
Great  Britain  was  notified  that  in  accordance  with  the 
treaty  of  1908  she  was  expected  to  close  Hongkong  and 
Wei*Hai-Wei  to  Chinese  vessels,  both  of  war  and  com- 
merce. She  gave  assurance  of  her  good  faith  and  kept  these 
and  other  treaty  obligations  inviolate  in  the  most  cordial 
and  friendly  manner,  but  being  in  no  way  involved,  her 
attitude  was  purely  that  of  a  friendly  and  sympathetic 
neutral. 

The  Atlantic  fleet  was  ordered  to  reinforce  the  Pacific 
fleet  with  four  first  class  cruisers,  two  battle-ships,  all  five 
of  its  recently  commissioned  scouting  cruisers  and  its 
entire  flotilla  of  torpedo-boat  destroyers — these  latter,  in 
accordance  with  recent  developments,  being  prepared  to 
serve  as  either  torpedo  destroyers  or  torpedo-boats  of  high 
efficiency.  The  most  important  strategic  point  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  GUAM,  not  having  been  prepared  to  receive  large 
quantities  of  naval  stores ;  and  the  fortifications,  docks, 
and  wireless  outfit  being  principally  on  paper,  was  not  suited 
for  the  receipt  and  protection  of  such  a  fleet.  Hence  the 
next  best  station,  Manila,  was  selected  as  the  headquarters 
of  the  reinforced  Pacific  fleet.  This  reinforced  Pacific  fleet 
was  expected  to  cruise  in  Chinese  waters,  completely  block- 
ade her  ports  and  bring  her  to  terms.    Colliers  were  put  into 


7 


service  and  ordered  to  increase  the  coal  supply  at  all  sta- 
tions on  the  Pacific  seaboard,  particularly  at  Pearl  Harbor, 
where  immense  coal  sheds  had  been  built  and  a  splendid 
drydock  and  repair  shops  constructed.  Coal  ships  were 
also  prepared  to  increase  supplies  at  ^lanila,  Guam  and 
Pago  Pago;  at  Kisga  preparations  were  yet  incomplete  and 
a  fair  supply  of  coal  being  on  hand,  no  colliers  were  sent 
there. 

The  United  States  had  accepted  the  gage  of  war  with 
China,  and  our  navy  was  able  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
the  country,  although  scattered  and  but  partially  provided 
with  aedquately  fortified  and  well  equipped  military  sta- 
tions. But  fortifications  and  strong  garrisons  were  not 
needed,  as  our  Asiatic  enemy  was  not  prepared  to  carry 
on  a  war  which  would  in  any  way  jeopardize  the  control  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Two  regiments  of  the  National  Guard  of  California  and 
one  of  W^ashington  were  ordered  to  prepare  for  garrison 
duty  at  points  to  be  indicated  'by  later  orders ;  and  secret 
instructions  were  given  to  the  proper  officers  to  outfit  two 
companies  from  each  regiment  for  duty  at  Manila,  the  same 
at  Pearl  Harbor  and  one  at  Guam,  thus  reinforcing  tht 
small  forces  at  these  points.  The  volunteer  naval  battal- 
ions at  all  Pacific  Coast  ports  were  mustered  into  service, 
and  preparations  made  to  assign  them  to  the  proper  ves- 
sels. 

The  actual  declaration  of  war  made  it  more  difficult 
to  keep  racial  antagonism  from  breaking  out  in  greater 
violence.  These  difficulties  were  intensified  by  the  news- 
papers, which  continued  to  incite  the  vicious  and  ignorant 
into  discontent  and  violence.  The  commercial  marine  of 
San  Francisco  and  Pacific  Coast  ports  had  been  admirably 
advised,  anticipating  trouble  by  reason  of  riots  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  by  the  recent  embarkation  of  wealthy  Chinese 
from  American  cities,  these  steamers  had  been  ordered  to 
leave  Chinese  ports  and  to  take  refuge  in  nearby  Japanese 
and  English  ports.  Learning  of  the  declaration  of  war,  some 
of  those  in  English  ports  had  crossed  to  Japan  to  take  on 
coal  or  to  await  orders  for  other  cargoes. 

Such  were  the  conditions  on  the  morning  of  ]\Iarch  23, 
1910.  On  that  day,  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Japa- 
nese Ambassador  at  W^ashington  delivered  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  a  copy  of  a  secret  treaty  of  ofYensive  and  defensive 
alliance  between  Japan  and  China,  certified  with  ihe  seals 
of  the  two  Governments  and  dated  as  far  back  as  Tune, 
1906,  just  after  the  close  of  the  Japanese-Russian  w.ir  of 
1904-5.  He  then  demanded  his  passports  and  left  on  the 
German  mail  steamer,  superb  quarters  being  furnisi  ed  him 
and  his  suite,  by  reason  of  the  declination  of  these  quarters 
bv  a  New  York  banker,  who  had  previously  engaged  them, 
ostensibly  for  himself  and  family. 


8 


•During  the  next  four  days  events  happened  in  a  bloody 
and  humiliating  procession.  During  the  night  of  ^^larch 
23d  cable  communication  with  Honolulu  was  cut  off,  a  few 
leagues  east  of  that  harbor;  and,  as  was  afterward  learned, 
a  rapid  and  puzzling  series  of  signals  from  more  powerful 
electric  batteries  than  those  on  the  islands,  completely  inter- 
rupted the  efficiency  of  the  wireless  station  at  Honolulu, 
until  early  dawn  on  the  morning  of  March  24th,  when  the 
top  of  the  signal  masi  was  blown  off  by  a  high  explosive 
attached  to  a  kite,  and  arranged  to  catch  the  mast  from  a 
distance  of  a  mile  or  more. 

During  the  same  night  boat  load  after  boat  load  of  uni- 
forms, arms,  ammunition  and  supplies  were  unloaded  four 
miles  west  of  Pearl  Harbor,  and  just  before  dawn  on  the 
24th  of  ]\Iarch,  eight  thousand  well  drilled  and  well  offi- 
cered troops,  thoroughly  armed  and  equipped  and  previ- 
ously employed  as  Chinese  and  Japanese  laborers,  stormed 
the  partly  constructed  fortifications  at  Pearl  Harbor  and 
adjacent  to  Honolulu.'^  The  garrisons  at  these  points,  con- 
sisting of  two  companies  of  coast  artillery,  were  killed  or 
captured  before  sunrise,  and  the  heavy  guns  in  place  were 
used  against  the  two  cruisers  and  one  battle-ship  in  the 
harbor.  One  of  the  cruisers  was  sunk  at  its  anchor,  the 
battle-ship  and  other  cruiser  replied,  but  wej*e  crippled,  and 
escaped  from  the  harbor,  when  they  were  forced-  to  sur- 
render to  an  overwhelming  fleet,  flying  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese  colors.  The  surprise  was  so  complete  that  no  time 
was  given  to  blow  up  the  magnificent  drydock  just  com- 
pleted at  Pearl  Harboi ,  with  its  full  equipment  of  shops  and 
repair  machinery.  Every  American  steamer  on  the  Asiatic 
coast  Avas  seized  except  four,  and  later  three  of  these,  with 
others  en  route  between  ports,  fell  a  prey  to  small,  swift 
torpedo  destroyers  cruising  around  and  between  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands  and  Kisga,  and  in  constant  wireless  commu- 
nication with  the  fleet  at  the  islands.  This  loss  was  enor- 
mous, for  all  lines  from  San  Francisco  and  Puget  Sound 
had  trebled  their  carrying  facilities,  and  the  steamers  were 
large  and  new  except  the  Siberia.  The  great  line  from  San 
Diego  lost  the  fine  new  steamer  Citrus,  but  the  Burbank, 
one  half  day  out  of  port,  was  caught  by  wireless  and  re- 
called. The  Cooper  was  accidentally  south  of  her  usual 
course  home  and  was  not  intercepted  by  the  hostile  fleet, 
and  arrived  home  on  the  26th. 

All  captured  steamers  Avere  immediately  sent  over  to 
China,  Avhere  troops,  arms,  ordnance,  ammunition,  engi- 
neers' tools  and  supplies  of  all  kinds  Avere  rapidly  loaded 
and  then  sent  to  the  HaAvaiian  Islands.  In  the  interim 
the  fortifications  there  Avere  rendered  almost  impregnable. 

*These  laborers,  it  Avas  afterAvards  learned,  had  serA^ed 
tAvo  years  Avith  the  colors  before  emigrating  to  the  islands. 


The  laborers  and  soldiers  there  having  been  put  to  work 
night  and  day  in  six-hour  shifts,  upon  plans  already  pre- 
pared to  thoroughly  fortify  not  only  Pearl  Harbor  and 
Honolulu,  but  every  harbor  of  advantage  on  the  islands. 
The  capture  had  been  so  thoroughly  and  rapidly  carried  out 
that  supplies  and  stores  of  all  kinds  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  captors,  so  that  by  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  con- 
verted troop  ships  and  transports,  everything  was  in  readi- 
ness. Indeed,  trained  troops,  police  and  civil  officials  were 
already  on  hand  and  a  provisional  Asiatic  Government  was 
established  within  sixty  hours  after  the  storming  of  the 
fortifications. 

The  First  Naval  Battle. 

The  Admiral's  flagship  the  cruiser  ?^Iichigan,  the 
cruisers  Tennessee  and  Colorado,  and  the  battle-ship  Ver- 
mont, of  the  Pacific  fleet,  had  been  ordered  to  hasten  to 
Honolulu  to  overhaul,  take  on  coal  and  stores,  and  proceed 
to  JManila.  They  were  intercepted  on  March  26th,  with 
bunkers  nearly  empty,  and  fought  a  running  fight  against 
far  superior  numbers.  The  foremost  of  the  Asiatic  cruisers 
was  sunk  and  the  others  heavily  damaged,  one  hardly 
reaching  the  Pearl  Harbor  drydock  under  forced  draught.. 
The  Vermont  and  the  ^Michigan  were  sunk,  and  the  other 
vessels  forced  to  surrender  to  three  times  their  efficiency 
of  higher  speed — the  Tennessee  sunk,  however,  within  thirty 
minutes  after  striking  her  colors.  The  enemy  attempted 
to  use  torpedo  destroyers  as  torpedo-boats,  but  they  were 
torn  to  pieces  by  the  lapid  and  accurate  fire  of  the  American 
guns.  The  efficiency  of  the  new  hospital  service  steamers 
of  Japan  was  a  merciful  marvel.  They  flew  in  amongst  the 
fighting  ships  like  darts.  The  small  boats  attached  to  each 
were  of  lifeboat  pattern,  and  motor  driven,  with  a  type  of 
engine  using  compressed  oxygen  and  oil — an  improvement 
on  the  old  Deisel  motor. 

In  addition  to  the  Red  Cross  flag  each  was  painted 
white,  with  the  red  cross  on  each  side  near  the  bow  and 
again  near  the  stern. 

American  steameis  en  route  to  Asiatic  and  Australian 
ports  were  nearly  all  captured  by  scout  cruisers  and  tor- 
pedo destroyers,  and  were  sent  as  prizes  to  Chinese  ports, 
none  being  sent  to  Japan.  Several  sailing  vessels  flying 
the  American  flag,  were  overhauled,  but  were  allowed  to 
proceed  either  way,  not  being  considered  worth  a  prize 
crew.  Foreign  ships  loaded  with  coal,  destined  for  Ameri- 
can ports,  were  sent  to  Pearl  Harbor  and  detained  or  the 
coal  paid  for. 

Similar  results  followed  at  Manila  to  those  at  Pearl 
Harbor,  where  there  were  only  the  old  battle-ship  Iowa, 
two   antiquated   cruisers   and   the   same   number   of  old 


10 


monitors.  There  was  a  new  and  astounding  use  made 
of  torpedo-boats  in  this  attack.  The  wealthy  Japa- 
nese, after  the  war  with  Russia,  took  to  steam  yachting. 
Their  boats  were  of  their  own  peculiar  pattern  and  were 
designed  for  racing  and  the  sport  was  indulged  in  on  all 
occasions.  The  cylindrical  traps  for  carrying  live  fish,  of 
which  the  Japanese  are  very  fond,  only  needed  a  pair  of 
doors  to  convert  them  inta  torpedo  tubes ;  and  the  ventilat- 
ing and  refrigerating  machinery  on  board  were  air  compres- 
sors. A  few  connections  converted  these  yachts  into  tor- 
pedo-boats. These  entered  the  harbor  and  were  repulsed — 
but  the  explosion  of  a  light  torpedo  against  the  hulls  of 
the  American  ships  inevitably  followed.  These  light  tor- 
pedoes were  very  effective  and  were  evidently  fired  from 
submarines  of  some  sort,  the  converted  torpedo  destroyers 
having  been  sacrificed  in  the  ruse.  Corregidor  Island  was 
seized,  ten  heavy  rifles  on  disappearing  carriages  were 
mounted  in  pits,  which,  with  quite  a  complement  of  heavy 
rapid  fire  field  guns  behind  temporary  fortifications  made 
this  little  island  a  veritable  Gibraltar  in  less  than  a  week. 

The  Asiatic  fleet  hovering  outside  .the  harbor  then  with- 
drew entirely  and  took  up  positions  near  the  western  en- 
trance to  the  China  Sea,  with  scout  cruisers  in  pairs,  300 
miles  west  of  Singapore  and  400  miles  southwest  of  Batavia. 

The  garrisons  on  the  Philippine  Islands  were  gradually 
killed  or  captured  by  Chinese  troops,  officered,  armed  and 
equipped  in  a  quick  and  thorough  manner  and  appearing  in 
overwhelming  numbers  wherever  needed. 

Fortifications  at  Guam,  Pago  Pago,  and  Kisga  being 
lacking,  or  only  in  process  of  construction,  the  handful  of 
troops  at  each  point  had  to  surrender.  The  surrender  was 
immediately  followed  by  one  or  two  troop  ships,  with  the 
necessary  trained  garrisons,  with  plans,  tools,  equipments, 
ordnance,  munitions,  etc.,  to  put  these  harbors  in  a  fair  state 
of  defence.  Guam  received  particular  attention.  The  new 
works  raised  there  being  of  the  most  formidable  and  pernia- 
nent  types,  with  additional  works  in  the  rear,  the  heavy  guns 
of  which  commanded  the  offings  of  the  harbor,  while  the 
rapid  fire  guns  commanded  the  line  in  front.  A  large  new 
floating  steel  dock  was  towed  into  the  harbor  from  Formosa 
and  put  in  condition  to  be  of  service  if  needed. 

The  Blockade. 

The  powerful  Asiatic  fleet  off  the  Hawaiian  Islands  on 
the  24th  and  the  25th  of  March  was  divided  into  three 
squadrons,  which  appeared  off  San  Francisco,  Puget  Sound 
and  San  Diego  almost  simultaneously  on  April  2d.  The 
battle-ships  Connecticut  and  Kansas,  and  armored  cruisers 
Colorado  and  South  Dakota,  in  San  Francisco,  were  con- 
fronted by  treble  their  efficiency  outside ;  and  the  battle- 
ship Louisiana  and  cruiser  Washington,  at  Bremerton,  were 


confronted  by  three  battle-ships  and  the  necessary  comple- 
ment of  auxiliary  vessels.  A  light  cruiser  and  supporting 
auxiliaries  did  duty  off  San  Diego.  The  three  squadrons 
being  directed  by  wireless  from  Pearl  Harbor,  where  the 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  allied  Asiatic  fleets  had  estab- 
lished his  headquarters. 

Thus,  early  in  April,  19 lo,  American  commerce  was 
swept  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,'  and  San  Francisco,  Puget 
Sound  and  San  Diego  were  as  effectually  blockaded  as  was 
Port  Arthur  in  1904-5.  The  reinforcing  squadrons  en  route 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  one  by  Suez  and  the  other  by  Cape 
Horn  (the  Panama  canal  being  only  atjout  one-third  fin- 
ished), were  necessarily  recalled.  For,  had  either  squadron 
continued,  it  would  have  been  met  by  an  equivalent  or  a 
more  powerful  enemy,  with  nearby  bases,  whilst  our  ves- 
sels would  have  arrived  with  empty  or  nearly  exhausted 
bunkers,  foul  bottoms  and  'no  supporting  harbor  or  safe 
place  of  rendezvous.  Upon  recall  of  these  reinforcements 
the  Allied  Asiatic  fleei  'n  the  China  Sea  took  up  its  station 
at  Guam  and  made  this  harbor  its  headquarters. 

The  superb  base  at  Pearl  Harbor,  with  a  temporary 
base  at  Catalina  Island — where  hospital,  repair  ships  and 
colliers  were  assembled — made  the  squadrons  of  the  Allied 
Asiatic  fleet  not  only  effective  on  blockade  duty,  but  also 
effective  as  an  offensive  unit,  should  circumstances  demand 
such  action,  for  the  Commander-in-Chief  at  Pearl  Harbor 
directed  all  movements  and  was  apprised  by  wireless  of  all 
important  facts  by  the  Admirals  in  command  of  squadrons. 
Whilst  the  commanding  harbor  at  Guam,  with  Manila  us  a 
sub-base,  gave  an  almost  overwhelming  advantage  over  a 
fleet  approaching  from  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  commanded 
the  very  harbors  this  fleet  was  expected  to  assist  in  block- 
ading. 

There  was  no  attempt  whatever  on  the  part  of  the 
squadrons  of  the  Allied  Asiatic  fleet  to  attack  or  shell  San 
Francisco,  Bremerton  and  San  Diego ;  they  simply  main- 
tained a  thorough  blockade  of  each  port,  now  and  then 
capturing  a  belated  sailing  vessel  or  blockade  runner,  risky 
enough  to  attempt  to  escape. 

The  battle-ships  and  cruisers  in  San  Francisco  Bay 
and  those  at  Bremerton  were  in  fine  shape,  but  there  was 
no  justification  in  sending  them  to  attack  the  seven  hostile 
ships  on  duty  off  San  Francisco  and  those  in  Puget  Sound — 
particularly  as  there  was  known  to  be  a  full  complement  of 
armored  cruisers,  torpedo  destroyers  and  probably  sub- 
marines in  the  blockading  squadrons. 

Doubts  as  to  the  presence  of  submarines  were  laid  at 
rest  in  the  early  part  of  April,  for  on  the  loth  a  suspicious 
floating  object  was  fired  on  and  probably  sunk  in  the  har- 
bor by  a  marine  battery  on  shore  duty  on   Yerba  Buena 


12 


Island,  aided  by  the  rapid  fire  guns  of  the  cruiser  Colorado, 
at  anchor  in  the  harbor. 

After  this  occurrence  the  positions  of  the  war  vessels  in 
the  bay  were  changed  every  night  after  dark,  and  motor 
launches  kept  patrol  around  each  vessel  during  the  entire 
night.  Searchlights  were  shifted  to  points  on  shore  and 
the  closest  watch  kept.  Just  a  little  before  sunrise  on  the 
morning  of  April  17th,  after  a  dark  and  rainy  night,  several 
muffled  explosions  were  heard,  and  the  city  was  startled 
by  the  news  that  every  drydock  in  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco 
had  been  mysteriously  blown  up.  Mare ' Island  docks,  the 
two  at  Hunters'  Point,  Union  and  Risdon  Iron  Works,  and 
even  the  floating  docks  at  Center  Street,  were  all  irrepar- 
ably damaged,  and  the  magnificent  battle-ship  Connecticut 
was  sunk  in  the  harbor,  though  the  others  escaped.  A  small 
fleet  of  submarines,  especially  equipped,  had  been  towed 
nearly  into  Golden  Gate  during  the  previous  night  in  a  dense 
fog.  Each  had  made  its  w^ay  during  the  night  to  its  ap- 
pointed duty  and  within  an  hour  after  daylight  had  done  its 
work.  Whether  they  escaped  or  not  was  never  known.  The 
violence  of  the  explosion  at  Mare  Island  was  terrific.  Hardly 
one  of  the  great  shops  and  their  costly  equipment  escaped 
serious  damage.  Doois  and  windows  across  the  strait,  in 
Vallejo,  w^ere  blown  in,  but  there  was  a  remarkably  small  loss 
of  life — workmen  not  having  assembled  for  the  day's  work. 
A  similar  attempt  at  Bremerton  two  days  later  was  com- 
pletely foiled,  but  both  approaches  to  the  dock  were  fairly 
strewn  with  fixed  mines,  which  would  require  several  weeks' 
work,  with  special  appliances,  not  then  available,  to  remove. 
Thus  the  American  navy  was  deprived  of  coaling  and  dock- 
ing facilities  in  and  around  the  entire  Pacific  Ocean,  except 
at  Bremerton,  and  here  the  dock  was  rendered  dangerous  of 
approach  for  months,  and  our  commerce  was  so  completely 
and  swiftly  swept  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  that  we  had  not  a 
flag  upon  its  vast  waters. 

Effect  of  Destruction  of  Ocean  TrafBc  on  Transcontinental 
Lines  and  Internal  Affairs. 

The  obliteration  of  ocean  traffic  by  the  capture  of  the 
great  steamer  lines  from  San  Francisco  and  Seattle,  and  the 
blockading  of  a  magnificent  new  line  from  San  Diego  in  that 
port,  coupled  with  the  cessation  of  the  traffic  done  by  nearly 
an  equal  number  of  Asiatic  steamers,  put  a  stop  to  the 
greater  portion  of  transcontinental  rail  traffic. 

The  recently  completed  Western  Pacific  Railway  had 
developed  its  terminals  on  both  oceans,  and  was  engaged 
in  distributing  materials  for  branch  lines,  and  its  low 
grades  and  superb  equipment  made  it  the  successful  bidder 
for  the  transportation  both  ways  of  Government  supplies 


13 


and  mail.  Its  old  contracts  for  1909-10  did  not  expire  until 
July,  1910,  when  its  new  contracts  for  1910-11  came  into 
force.  Hence  this  road  maintained  its  old  rates  and  made 
but  slight  reductions  in  its  forces.  The  previous  labor 
troubles  were  aggravated  and  intensified  by  the  enforced 
necessity  of  laying  off  the  greater  portion  of  all  railway 
employees  and  of  reducing  the  wages  of  those  remaining. 
This  caused  strikes  on  all  lines.  The  presence  of  Japanese 
and  Chinese  was  regarded  as  an  opportunity  for  revenge, 
and  as  their  countries  were  at  war  with  ours,  roughs  as- 
sumed that  it  was  a  part  of  their  patriotic  duty,  as  sym- 
pathizers with  the  strikers,  to  attack  these  foreign  laborers 
or  residents  within  our  borders  at  every  point,  or  at  least 
to  make  life  unendurable  for  them ;  indeed,  this  seemed 
to  be  the  sole  measure  of  their  patriotic  duty  to  their  coun- 
try, and  the  surest  and  best  manifestation  of  their  sympathy 
with,  or  adherence  to,  the  principles  of  the  labor  unions. 

The  Japanese  track  gangs  on  most  of  the  roads  were  a 
source  of  treble  danger:  First,  no  one  knew  what  they 
might  be  up  to,  particularly  under  the  aggravations  to  which 
they  were  subjected ;  second,  they  were  the  objects  of  spe- 
cial animosity  by  the  sympathizers  of  the  strikers;  third, 
it  took  a  large  portion  of  the  National  Guard  to  maintain 
order  and  guard  railway  and  other  property. 

Finally,  in  the  early  part  of  April,  1910,  upon  the  refusal 
of  the  National  Guard  to  fire  upon  a  gang  of  roughs  who 
were  attacking  a  small  camp  of  Japanese  laborers  in  Nevada, 
the  Ninth  Cavalry  was  sent  to  the  scene.  These  troops  had 
to  fire  upon  an  indiscriminate  mixture  of  roughs  and  Na- 
tional Guardsmen,  the  former  having  rushed  in  and  seized 
some  of  the  guns  of  the  guardsmen  with  which  to  attack  the 
Japanese  and  the  Ninth  Cavalry.  This  apparently  unavoid- 
able trouble  resulted  in  the  killing  and  wounding  of  nearly 
100,  among  whom  were  Captain  O'Brien  and  Lieutenant 
Rafiferty,  and  a  score  of  non-commissioned  officers  and  men 
of  the  National  Guard,  and  Lieutenant  Gordon  and  eleven 
non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  of  the  Ninth  Cav- 
alry. The  ultimate  outcome  of  this  lamentable  affair  was 
appalling;  the  strikers  refused  to  move  a  single  car  west  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  and  they  and  their  sympathizers  com- 
menced the  most  outrageous  series  of  destructions  ever 
imagined.  Tunnel  after  tunnel,  and  some  important  bridges 
and  minor  structures  were  blown  up.  The  great  summit 
tunnel  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  Moun- 
tains, was  in  course  of  construction ;  a  carload  of  povvder 
intended  for  this  work  was  exploded  in  the  old  tunnel; 
another  carload  was  exploded  on  the  track  at  *'Cape  Horn" 
and  the  costly  steel  braced  track  and  masonry  at  that  point 
were  tumbled  into  American  River.  The  blowing  up  of  the 
Needles  bridge  over  the  Colorado  was  done  with  such  skill 


14 


and  ingenuity  that  the  Japanese  laborers  were  at  once  ac- 
cused of  the  outrage.  As  near  as  the  Army  officers  who  in- 
vestigated the  matter  could  learn,  the  following  scheme  was 
carried  out :  An  innocent  looking  log  and  other  debris  float- 
ing down  stream  with  the  flood,  exploded  just  at  the  right 
time  and  place  and  dropped  two  spans  into  the  river.  Small 
pieces  of  insulated  copper  wire  were  found  in  the  willow 
brush  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  the  bridge,  and  the  robbery 
of  the  railroad  powder  house  a  few  weeks  prior  confirmed  the 
suspicion  that  this  innocent  looking  log  was  loaded  and 
was  fired  by  electricity.  Another  theory  was  that  some  des- 
perate and  patriotic  Japanese  laborer  had  floated  down  with 
the  log  and  sacrificed  hiniself  to  secure  the  destruction  of  a 
link  in  the  railroads  of  his  country's  foes.  The  eastern  por- 
tal of  the  great  Cascades  tunnel  on  the  Great  Northern 
was  blown  up,  and  a  similar  fate  befell  two  tunnels  on  the 
Northern  Pacific.  It  was  never  found  out  how  the  central 
pier  of  the  bridge  over  the  Colorado  at  Yuma  was  destroyed 
— a  mufiled  explosion  was  followed  by  the  toppling  over  of 
the  pier,  carrying  two  spans  of  the  bridge'  with  it.  It  was 
supposed  that  a  skillful  diver  attached  an  explosive  to  the 
lower  side  of  the  pier,  or  under  the  sand  adjacent  to  it, 
the  firing  of  which  so  weakened  the  pier  that  it  slowly 
tipped  over  from  the  force  of  the  flood.  The  steel  spans 
were  broken  and  twisted  and  half  buried  in  the  mud  and 
sand.  The  river  being  in  flood,  and  rising  from  melting 
snow,  conditions  for  repairing  these  bridges  were  growing 
more  difficult  and  could  not  be  expected  to  be  finished  until 
late  in  the  following  summer.  Smaller  structures  were  also 
damaged  or  destroyed  at  numerous  points,  thus  delaying 
and  complicating  traffic.  The  most  disturbing  trouble  was, 
however,  caused  by  the  blowing  ofif  of  all  the  wires  from 
telegraph  poles,  rendering  the  transmission  of  orders  for 
train  movements  and  important  national  dispatches  difficult 
or  impossible. 

Each  side  of  the  labor  controversies  charged  the  other 
with  these  outrages,  but  the  actual  criminals  were  rarely 
apprehended,  as  suspicion  pointed  sometimes  towards  one 
and  sometimes  towards  the  other,  with  the  probability  that 
both  were  guilty. 

In  addition  to  the  futile  attempt  to  guard  thousands  of 
miles  of  railway  and  telegraphic  lines,  the  Secretary  of  War 
found  it  necessary  to  seize  the  Western  Pacific  Railway  for 
the  Government,  and  to  hold  it  exclusively  for  Government 
use.  It  was  such  an  important  link  between  the  oceans 
that  the  fate  of  the  Nation  almost  depended  upon  it.  The 
Directors  insisted  that  some  security  be  given  and  gener- 
ously agreed  to  accept  Government  4^^%  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  road  and  its  equipments 
of  $250,000,000.00,  with  the  privilege  of  making  the  sale 
binding  at  their  pleasure,  and  upon  simple  notice  to  the 


15 


Secretary  of  War  to  that  effect.  The  Secretary  of  War, 
realizing  the  necessity,  was  forced  to  accept  these  terms — 
which  were  generous  enough,  as  they  covered  not  only 
the  actual  bond  issue,  but  the  stocks  also ;  those-  amounted 
to  fully  double  the  cost. 

The  alarming  nature  of  the  attacks  on  railroads  gen- 
erally, and  the  enormous  expense  of  repairs  and  operation, 
very  soon  led  the  directors  of  the  Western  Pacific  to  take 
the  safe  course ;  they  accordingly  formally  notified  the 
Secretary  of  War  of  their  conclusion  to  hold  the  bonds  and 
let  the  Government  retain  the  road. 

Troops,  war  materials  and  naval  supplies  were  rushed 
across  the  continent,  and  after  great  delays,  were  received 
on  the  Pacific  Coast.  AVhen  at  last  this  destination  was 
reached  there  was  little  or  no  need  for  the  materials,  but 
the  troops  were  everywhere  needed  to  maintain  order. 

San  Francisco  was  the  focus  of  greatest  disorder. 
Chinatown  was  the  object  of  general  hatred  and  attack  and 
had  to  be  guarded  and  patrolled  night  and  day  by  Federal 
troops.  It  took  all  the  skill  and  training  of  the  army  offi- 
cer and  the  discipline  of  the  trained  soldier  to  keep  the 
strikers  and  their  sympathizers  from  setting  fire  to  build- 
ings, cutting  water  and  g^as  pipes  leading,  into  Chinatown, 
and  to  protect  the  commissary  wagons  hauling  rations  and 
supplies  to  the  besieged.  But  rigid  discipline,  the  shooting 
of  a  few  caught  red-handed  and  the  execution,  after  court- 
martial,  of  a  few  others,  established  a  wholesome  respect 
for  lav/  and  order.  Similar  but  minor  troubles  occurred 
elsewhere.  Those  at  Fresno  were  accompanied  by  con- 
siderable loss  of  life  and  property.  Rioters  attacked  Chi- 
nese and  Japanese  fruit  pickers  and  set  fire  to  property  on 
ranches  employing  them  or  leased  to  them,  and  also  fired 
buildings  in  or  near  their  quarters  in  town.  Sacramento 
suffered  less  severely.  These  disturbances  were  finally 
quelled  and  kept  down  by  United  States  troops.  Indeed, 
the  State  was  practically  under  martial  law,  and  the  courts 
and  police  being  inefficient,  through  technicalities,  were 
simply  ignored  and  suppressed ;  but  it  was  deemed  best  that 
no  formal  order  to  this  effect  should  be  issued. 

The  racial  hatred  engendered  by  the  use  of  the  colored 
troops  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry  in  the  Nevada  aft'air  was  so 
deep  and  bitter  that  the  regiment  was  entirely  withdrawn 
and  stationed  for  safety  in  the  South  Atlantic  States,  where 
there  was  comparative  quiet,  due  partially  to  their  distance 
from  the  theater  of  war.  It  was  alleged  and  reiterated  by 
the  yellow  press  that  the  stationing  of  this  regiment  at  the 
point  of  outbreak  was  a  premeditated  act  on  the  part  of 
the  Government,  intended  to  produce  race  conflicts  in  order 
to  strengthen  the  central  power  of  the  Government.  This 
was  conclusively  shown  to  be  false,  and  that  the  Ninth  regi- 


16 


ment  was  on  its  regular  tour  of  assignment  of  duties  at 
different  posts,  and  was  the  most  available  body  of  reliable 
troops  when  the  disorder  broke  out.  The  clamor  was  so 
great  that  it  became  necessary  to  order  a  court  martial  of 
the  officers  of  the  regiment.  The  finding  of  the  court  was 
hififhly  creditable  to  them,  it  having  been  irrefutably  proved 
that  they  and  their  command  had  been  subjected  to  the 
severest  and  keenest  trial  of  patriotism  and  duty  which 
comes  to  a  soldier,  and  had  simply  discharged  their  awful 
responsibilities.  This  finding  was  concurred  in  by  a  court 
consisting  of  army  officers  and  of  the  National  Guard  of 
the  States  in  which  the  troops  were  then  stationed.  The 
mass  of  the  American  people,  and  the  better  classes  of  our 
foreign  born  citizens,  recognized  the  facts  and  accepted  the 
justness  of  this  verdict;  but,  the  yellow  press  and  its  cor- 
rupting and  inflammatory  writers,  smarting  under  the  re- 
fusal of  the  court  to  allow  its  attorneys  to  assist  the  Judge 
Advocate  and  his  associate  from  the  National  Guard  of 
Pennsylvania,  continued  to  distort  the  truth  and  misrep- 
resent the  facts.  This  action  on  their  part  encouraged  and 
incited  the  ignorant  rough  element  in  their  deeds  of  vio- 
lence. The  previous  vicious  course  of  yellow  journalism, 
having  culminated  in  bringing  on  the  most  disastrous  war 
the  country  ever  knew^ — a  war  practically  taking  the  shape 
of  a  civil  and  foreign  war  combined — its  writers  actually 
continued  to  clog  or  destroy  the  effectiveness  of  our  ener- 
gies in  war  by  pandering  to  and  exciting  the  passions  of 
the  ignorant  and  vicious ;  this,  however,  tended  to  draw  a 
clean  and  well  defined  line  between  the  workingmen  proper 
and  the  riotous  and  ''sympathizing"  element.  The  former 
began  to  see  that  their  first  allegiance  was  due  to  their  coun- 
try and  its  laws,  from  which  duty  they  had  been  led  away 
by  the  example  of  the  trusts  and  monopolies.  Both  the 
capitalist  and  the  laborer  were  thus  paying  tenfold  for  their 
past  work,  but  the  punishment  fell,  it  is  true,  on  the  inno- 
cent more  than  the  guilty. 

The  yellow  press  demanded  with  the  most  intemperate 
denunciations,  the  impeachment  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  holding  that  C3mpetent  official  responsible  for  decades 
of  failure  by  our  people  and  Congress  to  recognize  the  im- 
portance of  providing  fortified  stations  in  and  around  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  for  not  making  the  Pacific  fleet  the  most 
efficient  in  that  ocean.  It  even  attacked  the  entire  Navy 
Department — that  service  which  alone  can  insure  us  safety 
and  success  in  i  foreign  war — for  the  United  States  is  so 
situated  that  excepting  internal  foes,  no  foe  can  reach  our 
borders  without  controlling  the  sea.  The  only  justification 
for  these  tirades  of  the  yellow  press  was  the  past  failures 
of  our  people  and  Congress  to  recognize  and  act  in  harmony 
with  the  importance  of  efficient  and  well  fortified  military 


stations  in  and  around  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  commeasur- 
able  with  our  naval  and  commercial  needs.  These  jour- 
nals, with  the  milk-and-water-sop  dished  out  to  us  in  the 
past,  and  until  now  by  the  so-called  universal  peace  advo- 
cates, iiad  been  our  worst  foes.  It  is,  however,  not  our  task 
to  moralize  over  the  causes  of  this  disastrous  war,  but  to 
briefly  recall  the  principal  events  and  results. 

Effect  of  Asiatic  Mastery  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  Our 

Country. 

Conditions  in  the  Eastern  States  were  sad,  but  the  put- 
ting forth  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  by  the  Govern- 
ment for  naval  and  military  purposes,  and  the  working  of 
eight-hour  shifts  in  every  dock  yard  or  factory  producing 
naval  and  military  supplies,  partly  ameliorated  their  condi- 
tions. Japan  and  China  ceased,  of  course,  to  take  our  great 
staple,  cotton ;  but  European  industries  were  revived,  and 
bought  freely  at  high  prices.  Atlantic  ports  were  open  and 
commercial  interchange  practically  undisturbed,  except  that 
the  paralyzing  effects  of  war  decreased  the  productive 
capacities  of  the  whole  country.  The  absolute  and  entire 
wiping  out  of  American  trade  and  commerce  on  the  Pacific 
Ocean  just  as  it  was  assuming  enormous  proportions,  and 
entering  into  competition  with  powerful  Asiatic  rivals  in  its 
development,  was  a  blow  inflicted  in  a  few  weeks,  and 
requiring  centuries  to  recover.  This  blow  fell  on  the  Pacific 
States  with  the  greatest  severity.  These  being  the  theater 
of  internal  disorder,  isolated  the  energies,  patriotism  and 
power  of  the  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  law- 
lessness almost  reaching  rebellion  and  civil  war.  Between 
the  line  of  contact  with  the  enemy  and  the  great  energies 
of  the  nation,  was  this  embroiled  and  bitter  industrial  and 
racial  conflict — paralyzing  every  effort  and  humiliating 
every  heart. 

These  conditions  imposed  such  a  terrible  hardship  on 
the  Government  that,  coupled  with  the  complete  mastery 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean  by  the  enemy,  made  a  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  war  impossible  and  hopeless.  Even  if  the  keys 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Guam  and  the  Hav^^aiian  Islands  only, 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  an  attack  upon  his  com- 
merce and  the  blockading  of  his  ports  would  be  well  nigh 
impossible.  But,  with  these  keys  and  all  else — Manila, 
Pago  Pago,  and  Kisga,  a  temporary  base  well  established 
on  Catalina  Island,  and  his  powerful  blockading  squadrons 
off  our  western  ports,  and  operated  as  a  unit  from  the 
single  station  at  Pearl  Harbor,  its  splendid  dock  and  its 
facilities  in  his  possession — a  continuation  of  the  war  was 
indeed  hopelessly  impossible. 

The  dire  strait  in  which  the  country  was,  can  best  be 
appreciated  by     glance  at  the  accompanying  map,  show- 


18 


ing  the  three  great  oceans  as  units,  and  our  masterly  posi- 
tion between  them.  It  is  seen  at  once  that  Guam  is  midway 
on  a  nearly  direct  line  from  Yokohama  to  Torres  Strait,  in 
Northeast  Australia;  and  from  its  splendid  harbor,  well 
fortified,  an  efficient  navy  can  control  on  radial  lines  every 
entrance  to,  and  every  harbor  on  the  southw^est  half  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Also,  that  Pearl  Harbor,  on  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  commands  on  correspondingly  radial  lines,  all 
Pacific  Coast  harbors  on  the  east  side  of  that  ocean,  from 
Alaska  to  Acapulco.  Two  more  masterly  positions  from 
the  standpoint  of  commercial  and  naval  control,  do  not 
exist  on  the  globe.  Add  to  these  the  sub-stations  Pago 
Pago,  Manila  and  Kisga,  and  the  chain,  properly  fortified, 
is  impregnable.  With  the  three  great  continental  harbors, 
San  Francisco,  Puget  Sound  and  San  Diego — these  abso- 
lutely dominate- the  Pacific  Ocean.  These  points  of  control 
had  been  secured  for  us  by  the  clear  foresight  of  those 
directing  our  military  affairs — but  through  the  supine  indif- 
ference of  our  people  and  Congress,  they  had  been  permit- 
ted to  remain  unfortified  and  unprotected,  consequently  all, 
except  the  three  continental  harbors  had  been  seized  by 
an  alert  and  far  seeing  foe,  and  these  continental  harbors 
were,  by  this  stroke,  rendered  almost  as  useless  as  waste 
sand  bars. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  relations  of  these  three  harbors 
to  the  empire  to  the  east  of  them.  Each  is  approached  by 
great  lines  of  transportation  traversing  a  continent,  and 
linking  them  to  its  millions  and  the  commerce  of  the  At- 
lantic. These  lines  w^ere  almost  completely  paralyzed  by 
internal  disorders.  Could  a  more  humiliating  condition  be 
imagined  for  the  greatest  of  Anglo-Saxon  peoples ! 

The  Losses. 

The  losses  'n  lives  had  been  comparatively  slight,  ex- 
cepting the  sharp  and  bloody  conflicts  of  small  isolated  gar- 
risons and  the  naval  conflicts  in  and  around  Honolulu  and 
Manila,  no  serious  conflicts  were  had.  The  crews  of  the 
vessels  previously  mentioned  had  been  killed  or  captured, 
and  these  latter  were  being  cared  for  with  even  greater 
medical  skill  and  humanity  than  the  crews  of  the  Russian 
fleets  in  1904-5.  The  loss  of  life  in  the  sinking  of  the  Con- 
necticut w^as  small  by  reason  of  the  splendid  discipline  on 
board  American  war  vessels,  and  the  ready  assistance 
available."^ 

The  killed  in  the  race  riots,  lawlessness  and  internal  out- 
breaks accompanying  strikes  were  nearly  double  the  losses 
in  naval  and  military  conflicts,  and  ten  times  the  number 

*The  vessel  itself  has  been  raised  and  will  be  repaired 
as  soon  as  the  repair  of  the  docks  can  be  completed. — Eds. 


19 


of  troops  were  engaged  in  preventing  further  outrages  and 
conflicts  and  in  guarding  railway  and  telegraph  lines  than 
were  needed  to  man  the  entire  navy. 

The  real  damage  and  loss  to  the  country  after  that 
inflicted  by  these  causes,  was  in  the  entire  and  irreparable 
loss  of  the  opportunity — not  to  control,  but  even  to  compete 
for  the  control — of  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with 
Asiatic  rivals. 


Negotiations  for  Peace  and  Its  Price. 

Europe  stood  amazed  and  almost  aghast  at  the  condi- 
tion of  the  once  powerful  and  rich  United  States.  Germany 
was  apparently  contemplating  some  stroke,  for  her  entire 
fleet  was  concentrated  at  a  few  points.  It  is  not  known 
what  was  contemplated,  but  the  concentration  of  the  Brit- 
ish home  squadron  oflf  Dundee  and  Hull,  and  the  recall  of 
the  most  powerful  vessels  of  the  great  Mediterranean  fleet 
to  Portsmouth  seemed  to  have  restored  confidence  and 
allayed  any  alarm. 

Our  own  people  were  simply  dumb  with  humiliation. 
The  overwhelming  blackness  of  the  situation  confronting 
them  for  a  time  paralyzed  their  powers  of  thought.  But 
their  Executive  wxnt  at  the  dark  task  before  him  on  the 
best  and  most  feasible  lines.  An  armistice  was  asked  for. 
To  which  our  Asiatic  conquerors  replied  that  no  conflict 
was  going  on  and  none  possible,  except  upon  our  advance 
and  choice.  The  terms  of  peace  and  the  withdrawal  of  their 
blockading  fleet  from  our  ports  were  then  solicited.  These 
terms  were  moderate,  but  extremely  galling.  Briefly  stated 
the  terms  were  as  follows: 


ARTICLE  1. 

Provided  for  The  cession  to  the  Allied  Asiatic  Powers  of 
Guam,  the  Hawaiian  and  Philippine  Islands, 
Ki^ga,,  Pago  Pago,  Catalina  Island,  and  the 
Farallone  Islands  (light  house  privileges  on 
these  latter  to  be  retained  by  the  United  States 
in  time  of  peace). 


ARTICLE  IL 


Provided  for  The  payment  by  the  United  States  of  an 
indemnity  of  $750,000,000.00.  With  part  of 
which  the  United  States  was  permitted  to  re- 
imburse the  owners  of  the  steamers  captured 
during  the  war,  and  the  owners  of  Catalina 
Island. 


20 


ARTICLE  III. 

Provided  That  a  part  of  this  indemnity  should  be  paid 
to  the  relatives  of  each  Asiatic  subject  killed, 
or  to  such  subject  in  the  case  of  injury;  to 
person  or  property  which  had  been  incurred 
by  rioting  during  the  war  and  the  year  imme- 
diately preceding. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

Provided  That  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  United 
States  should  be  so  amended  so  as  to  extend 
.  to  all  aliens  equal  rights  of  citizenship. 

ARTICLE  V. 

Provided  That  the  minutiae  of  these  terms  and  the 
financial  details  should  be  adjusted  and  fixed 
by  an  Imperial  High  Court  composed  of  Chi- 
nese and  Japanese  jurists,  sitting  in  the  hotel 
on  Catalina  Island. 

The  effect  of  the  announcement  of  these  terms  can  only 
be  likened  to  the  outburst  of  Mt.  Pelee. 

The  provisions  of  Article  IV  set  the  whole  country 
ablaze — that  Asiatic  powers  should  dictate  the  terms  upon 
which  the  right  of  citizenship  should  rest  was  too  unbear- 
able to  consider  for  an  instant.  Indignation  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  knew  no  bounds — the  terms  were  simply  heinous — 
and  the  entire  daily  press  went  into  hysterics  of  denuncia- 
tion and  threatened  the  most  dire  consequences  unless  Arti- 
cle IV  be  immediately  withdrawn.  But  the  chain  of  float- 
ing steel  fortresses  around  our  great  gates  of  commerce 
remained  the  same  and  each  of  its  relentless  links  responded 
in  a  single  minute  to  the  directing  genius  of  one  man,  situ- 
ated 2000  miles  away,  at  Pearl  Harbor.  Not  a  single  non- 
combatant  within  our  vast  borders  had  seen  the  armed 
legions  of  our  foes,  nor  his  emblazoned  sun  and  dragon 
flags — yet  the  most  secluded  hamlet  felt  the  crush  and  hu- 
miliation of  his  steel  squadrons.  No  eyes,  save  those  of 
the  thousands  of  tireless  watchers  at  the  guns  on  the 
heights  saw  those  black  dots  on  the  sea  which  forbade  our 
flag  to  fly  to  its  breezes,  and  our  commerce  to  seek  its  marts. 

The  situation  was  so  intensely  critical  that  those  legis- 
latures not  already  in  session  were  immediately  called 
together.  Denunciatory  resolutions  of  the  most  extreme 
and  lurid  wordings  were  introduced  in  all  of  them  except 
Massachusetts,  South  Carolina,  Virginia,  Texas  and  Min- 
nesota. 


21 


The  country  seemed  to  be  in  the  control  of  the  unbri- 
dled demons  of  black  despair. 

Out  of  this  despairing  wail  came  a  few  calm  words. 
It  was  pointed  out  that  all  of  the  islands  mentioned  in 
Article  I  were  already  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy,  and 
that  an  increase  in  the  indemnity  might  induce  him  to  re- 
linquisii  Catalina  Island  and  the  Farallones,  which  should 
never  be  surrendered. 

Article  II  was  favorably  commented  on  by  European 
journals  and  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  capitalization  of 
the  ocean  transportation  companies  whose  property  had 
been  swept  out  of  existence,  and  of  the  hotel  company  own- 
ing Catalina  Island,  v/ere  nearly  half  the  total  indemnity. 

Article  V  was  harmless  except  for  the  indignity  of  the 
place  selected  for  the  meeting  of  the  Imperial  High  Court 
and  the  outrageous  and  humiliating  terms  of  Article  IV. 

These  outbursts  and  manifestations  of  hatred  had  no 
effect  whatever  on  the  grim  girdle  of  steel  fortresses  hold- 
ing our  western  sea  front,  and  the  very  horror  of  the  situ- 
ation seemed  to  awe  even  the  rioters  into  humiliation,  so 
that  the  guarding  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  laborers  became 
a  less  difficult  task;  and  men,  real  men,  stepped  forward 
from  the  mighty  ranks  of  labor,  and,  with  patriotism  blaz- 
ing in  every  feature,  volunteered  by  hundreds  of  thousands 
to  undertake  any  class  of  service  our  country  might  need, 
to  act  as  their  own  guards  and  to  protect  life  and  property. 

There  was  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  accept  the  profered 
terms,  this  nation  could  not  wait  in  its  crippled  condition 
until  an  adequate  fleet  could  be  built  in  Eastern  yards 
and  sent  around  the  Horn,  or  through  Suez  to  restore  our 
power.  What  could  the  allied  powers  of  Asia  do  in  the 
same  time?  What  would  be  the  nature  and  strength  of  a 
fleet  which  could  steam  from  Atlantic  ports  to  the  eastern 
ports  of  Asia  and  without  fortified  harbors  and  coaling  sta- 
tions carry  on  a  war?  Could  we  ask  our  only  friend  to  help 
us  and  risk  an  attack  from  European  rivals?  All  these 
questions,  and  more,  were  asked  and  unanswered  save  by 
sighting  off  our  fair  shores  the  flags  of  a  hostile  fleet  beyond 
our  power  to  harm,  yet  infinite  in  his  power  to  harm  us  ; 
and  these  conditions  had  been  brought  about  by  our  own 
disregard  of  our  own  laws  and  opportunities. 

The  terms  were  yet  before  us.  The  Imperial  High 
Court  met  for  the  adjudication  of  details.  It  was  largely 
composed  of  jurists  educated  in  American  or  European 
universities,  qualified  in-  every  way  to  consider  and  discuss 
the  questions  in  the  English  language.  All  its  assistants, 
clerks  and  even  stenographers  were  similarly  qualified,  and 
were  so  organized  that  any  detail  was  instantly  produced  or 
executed  as  required. 

Brevity  and  businesslike  methods  characterized  the 


22 

whole  proceedings.  Each  article  was  taken  up  seriatim  and 
its  exact  scope  and  meaning  fixed.  The  United  States  prac- 
tically appeared  through  its  Commissioners  as  an  uncon- 
tested plaintiff,  and  stated  its  case,  which  the  Imperial  High 
Court  took  into  consideration  and  promptly  brought  in  its 
finding;?.  It,  however,  graciously  and  with  extreme  oriental 
courtesy,  permitted  the  plaintiff  to  restate  his  case  and 
reconsidered  its  previous  findings,  generally  with  slight  or 
no  modification. 

Article  I  was  modified,  omitting  the  surrender  of  Cata- 
lina  Island  and  ihe  Farallones,  and  adding  $10,000,000.00  to 
the  indemnity."^ 

Twenty  millions  of  dollars  were  deducted  from  the 
indemnity,  as  being  the  sum  paid  by  the  United  States  to 
Spain  for  the  Philippine  Islands.  This  was  an  auspicious 
beginning,  although  all  points  were'to  be  held  by  the  Asiatic 
Allies  until  the  final  payment  of  the  sums  ultimately  fixed 
by  the  Imperial  High  Court  and  the  ratification  of  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  by  Congress. 

In  the  consideration  of  Article  II  the  American  Com- 
missioners presented  sworn  statements  of  the  capitaliza- 
tion of  each  of  the  steamer  lines,  and  asked  that  the  United 
States  he  permitted  to  pay  this  sum,  amounting  to  $391,870,- 
000.00,  to  the  steamer  companies. 

The  Imperial  High  Court  took  the  matter  into  consid- 
eration and  fixed  the  sum  at  $42,728,490.00,  that  being  the 
exact  value  sworn  to  by  the  honorable  officers  of  the  honor- 
able steamer  companies  at  the  assessment  just  preceding 
the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  and  appearing  upon  the 
assessment  records  of  their  home  ports,  plus  $924,782.00,  as 
the  assessed  values  of  the  private  works  destroyed  in  the 
harbor  of  San  Francisco  by  reason  of  the  exigencies  of  war. 
Damages  for  this  latter  property  not  having  been  asked  for, 
suits  being  in  preparation  against  the  United  States  for  a 
far  larger  sum.  The  figures  having  been  obtained  and  veri- 
fied by  law  students  from  Asia  attending  the  universities  in 
America  and  verifiable  by  them  as  they  were  now  present 
in  the  employ  of  the  Imperial  High  Court.  The  Imperial 
High  Court  heard  the  American  Commissioners,  but  politely 
declined  to  change  its  evidently  just  findings.  It  admitted 
that  these  vessels  and  works  could  not  be  built  and  restored, 
even  in  Japan  or  China,  for  the  sums  found  by  it,  but  that 
it  could  not  reject  official  records  of  the  honorable  States 
of  California,  Washington  and  Oregon. 

*This,  as  was  afterwards  learned,  w^as  spent  in  a  lease 
for  99  years  from  Equador  of  the  Galapagos  Islands,  with 
the  privilege  of  renewal  at  the  same  price  for  the  same 
terms.  These  islands  command  the  Isthmian  canal  and 
adjacent  ports. 


23 


Article  III  was  then  taken  up  for  adjustment  and  the 
American  Commissioners  suggested  $5000  for  each  Japanese 
or  Chinese  killed  during  the  riots,  and  $1000  for  each  one 
injured  or  maimed,  with  as  accurate  lists  as  could  be  ob- 
tained of  these  unfortunates  and  their  losses.  The  sum  to 
be  paid  them  aggregated  on  this  basis  $985,000.00. 

In  fixing  the  amounts  to  be  paid  to  the  relatives  of  the 
killed  and  to  the  maimed  Japanese  and  Chinese  the  High 
Court  had  in  its  possession  the  exact  names,  dates  and 
places  of  every  Asiatic  covered  by  the  terms  of  the  article 
under  consideration,  his  death,  injury  or  loss,  and  fixed  the 
price  at  the  mean  amounts  determined  by  the  juries  of  the 
several  States  in  case-,  of  awards  for  damages  or  for  loss  of 
life  or  serious  injury.  The  Imperial  High  Court  expressed 
its  surprise  thai  the  awards  in  the  latter  cases  generally 
exceeded  those  for  actual  loss  of  life — but  verified  its  con- 
clusions in  each  case  by  citations  from  the  Court  Reports 
of  the  several  States  in  which  the  outrages  had  taken  place. 
This  data  also  had  been  collected  by  Asiatic  law  students 
at  various  American  universities  and  was  verifiable  by  clerks 
then  present,  if  so  desired. 

The  sum  fixed  by  the  Imperial  High  Court  for  this 
particular  and  on  this  revised  basis,  amounted  to  $18,496,- 
754.00.  One  of  the  Chinese  members  of  the  High  Court 
made  some  reference  during  this  presentation  to  the  Fif- 
teenth and  Sixteenth  verses  of  the  Twentieth  Chapter  of 
Exodus,  but  the  exact  relation  of  the  reference  to  the  case 
could  not  be  ascertained  until  the  American  Commissioners 
got  back  to  Los  Angeles  and  examined  the  reference. 

When  the  American  Commissioners  came  to  present 
Article  IV"  they  grew  livid  and  demanded  that  it  be  ex- 
punged from  the  treaty.  The  Imperial  High  Court  an- 
nounced that  this  exceeded  their  powers  and  that  it  must 
be  enforced,  as  the  Allied  Asiatic  powers  had  at  least  estab- 
lished their  equality  with  the  nations  of  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, and  were  determined  to  insist  upon  the  full  recognition 
of  this.  The  Imperial  High  Court,  however,  consented  to 
the  transmission  of  its  views  to  the  Capitol  at  Washington, 
and  to  await  further  instructions  to  the  American  Commis- 
sioners. 

These  communications  were  passed  in  duplicate  by 
separate  sets  of  officials,  one  by  wire  and  one  by  wireless, 
to  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington.  Roth  the  Amer- 
ican Commissioners  and  the  Imperial  High  Court  were 
astounded  at  receiving  imperative  instructions  from  the 
Secretary  of  Staie  to  i^ccept  the  terms  of  Article  IV  without 
reserve. 

To  the  anathemas  of  denunciation  launched  at  him  by 
the  press  and  Legislatures  the  Secretary  of  State  coldly 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  under  the  terms  of  Article 


24 


II,  Section  2,  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Con- 
gress had  the  power  to  make  war  or  to  declare  peace,  and 
that  this  important  function  of  the  Government  had  not  been 
delegated  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  nor  even 
to  the  press.  He  intimated  that  he  hoped  to  make  some 
suggestions  to  the  former  for  their  consideration  in  the  near 
future. 

It  is  difficult,  even  at  this  time,  to  realize  the  intensity 
and  fierceness  of  the  denunciations  directed  at  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  his  action  in  this  matter.  Resolutions  demand- 
ing that  he  be  impeached  and  hung  for  high  treason  were 
passed  by  many  States  and  forwarded  to  Congress ;  and  his 
life  was  attempted  twice.  Only  with  the  greatest  effort 
could  the  police  and  troops  protect  him,  and  a  member  of 
the  police  was  even  suspected  of  having  made  one  of  the 
attempts  on  his  life. 

When  final  oction  was  had  on  the  treaty  this  fact  was 
transmitted  in  duplicate  by  wireless  and  wire,  as  heretofore 
mentioned,  and  the  Secretary  of  State,  through  the  Presi- 
dent, transmitted  the  terms  to  Congress  and  recommended 
their  acceptance  to  that  body. 

On  the  same  date  he  transmitted  a  separate  recom- 
mendation through  the  President  to  Congress,  and  asked 
that  it  be  considered  in  joint  executive  session  with  the 
President  and  Cabinet  present. 

During  this  session  troops  were  to  guard  the  entire 
Capitol  grounds  and  no  one  was  to  enter  or  leave ;  the 
United  States  printing  office  was  to  be  guarded  by  double 
lines  of  secret  police  and  troops. 

Congress  sat  but  for  a  short  time,  and  on  July  3d 
acceptea  the  terms  and  ratified  the  peace,  ratifications  being 
exchanged  by  duplicate  dispatches  as  before.  It  then  went 
again  into  executive  session  and  sat  continuously  through 
July  4th,  5th  and  6th. 

The  gloom  of  that  Fourth  of  July  is  a  memory  graven 
deep  in  the  hearts  of  American  patriots.  Flags  were  half- 
masted.  Governors  proclaimed  it  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer.  ^Ministers  took  for  their  texts  passages  from  the 
Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  and  preached  to  congregations 
with  set  jaws  and  bowed  heads. 

By  the  6th  of  July  the  final  and  ceremonial  exchange 
of  copies  of  the  treaty  of  peace  were  made,  and  the  Ameri- 
can Commissioners  left  Catalina  Island.  Then  the  grim 
silence  of  Washington  burst  forth,  Congress  had,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  without  a  dissenting  vote*  amended  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  absolutely  prohibiting  foreign  immigra- 

*  Although  there  were  many  foreign  born  Senators  and 
Representatives  present. 


25 


tion  from  all  countries  for  ten  (lo)  years;  and  FOREVER 
DENYING  TO  ANY  PERSON  THE  RIGHT  OF  FRAN- 
CHISE UNLESS  BORN  AND  EDUCATED  ON  AMERI- 
CAN SOIL  AND  BENEATH  THE  FLAG. 

Drafts  of  amendments  to  the  Constitution  and  Laws  of 
every  State  in  the  Union  in  harmony  with  this  action  had 
been  prepared  and  printed  and  were  transmitted  to  the 
respective  Legislatures  by  telegraph  and  mail,  with  the 
unanimous  recommendation  of  Congress  that  they  be 
adopted  as  soon  as  the  requirements  of  their  several  con- 
stitutions permitted. 

The  blaze  of  patriotic  glory  that  burst  forth  and  shone 
from  mountain  top  to  prairie,  to  mountain  top  and  ocean, 
brought  a  delirium  of  joy  to  every  heart.  The  purification 
of  the  ballot  box  was  assured.  Never  again  would  the  foul 
hand  of  the  ignorant  or  purchased  voter  touch  that  sacred 
signet  of  the  right  of  franchise  of  the  American  citizen — the 
ballot.  The  people,  scourged  and  purified  by  the  suffering, 
grief  and  humiliation  of  defeat,  were  ready  to  make  it,  what 
the  forefathers  made  it — the  hallowed  exponent  of  the  right 
to  participate  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation. 

The  War's  Lesson. 

To  rehabilitate  the  country  was  an  immense  task.  The 
first  and  greatest  problem  was  the  transportation  problem. 
The  transfer  of  the  products  of  the  farm  to  the  consumer, 
of  those  of  the  mine  and  field  to  the  factory  or  mill,  and  then 
to  the  homes  of  the  people.  It  has  been  mentioned  that  in 
the  early  part  of  the  w^ar  the  ^^^estern  Pacific  Railroad  w^as 
seized  by  the  Government  as  a  war  measure,  and  that  the 
Secretary  of  War  had  been  required  to  put  the  actual  cost 
of  the  road  and  its  equipment  in  United  States  4^%  go^d 
bonds,  $250,000,000.00,  in  the  hands  of  the  directors.  That, 
becoming  alarmed  as  to  the  safety  of  the  road  and  its 
equipment,  they  had  formally  notified  the  Secretary  of  their 
acceptance  of  the  bonds,  thus  making  the  Government  the 
absolute  owner  of  the  most  recently  built  and  best  equipped 
transcontinental  line,  with  splendid  terminals  and  branch 
lines.  The  other  transcontinental  roads  practically  forced 
the  late  directors  of  the  Western  Pacific  to  ask  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  to  issue  a  mandamus  compelling 
the  Governmen'c  to  accept  the  return  of  the  bonds,  and 
restore  the  road  to  their  ownership  and  control.  The  Court 
heard  the  arguments  and  pronounced  the  transaction  legal 
and  the  sale  just  and  valid. 

This  sale  carried  with  it  the  existing  and  unexpired 
contracts  and  the  then  recently  awarded  contracts  for  the 
ensuing  fiscal  year.  Among  these  were  the  contracts  for 
carrying  the  bulk  of  the  great  interurban  and  transconti- 


26 


nental  mails  and  for  Government  troops,  supplies  and  ma- 
terials of  all  sorts.  The  Government  officials  therefore 
found  themselves  executing  contracts  for  the  Government 
at  enormously  profitable  rates.  They  learned  that  in  the 
collection  and  distribution  of  mail  there  was  carried  out  the 
most  expensive  and  yet  profitable  part  of  the  mail  service, 
and  that  these  vast  profits  were  swallowed  up  in  the  con- 
tracts for  doing  the  most  inexpensive  part  of  the  service; 
or,  that  in  carrying  out  both  of  these  parts  of  the  service, 
as  provided  in  Article  I,  Section  8,  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  there  was  sufficient  profit  to  build  a 
battle-ship  or  two  every  year.  This  article  authorized  Con- 
gress to  build  and  maintain  postoffices  and  post  roads ;  we 
had  been  performing  the  hard  and  costly  part  of  this  at  a 
profit  and  farming  out  the  real  money  making  part  at  ruin- 
ous profits  to  the  bond-aided  and  other  railroads.  They  also 
found  out  the  exact  cost  of  hauling  freight  long  and  short 
distances,  and  deducted  this  cost  from  the  "contract  prices" 
under  which  they  were  hauling  it,  left  an  astounding  profit. 
When  these  facts  were  reported  to  Congress  that  body 
passed  a  very  simple  law,  requiring  the  Government  road 
to  transport  all  classes  of  freight  at  the  same  price,  which 
price  would  pay  the  four  and  one-half  per  cent  interest  on 
the  bonds  paid  for  the  road,  the  cost  of  service  including 
maintenance  and  3^^%  for  depreciation,  and  to  retire  the 
bonds  in  forty  years.  Shippers  were  privileged  to  insure 
freight  at  its  value  at  very  reasonable,  but  profitable  rates 
to  the  Government.  In  the  case  of  loss  or  damage  to  un- 
insured freight  the  amount  of  such  loss  was  fixed  by  a  court 
of  competent  jurisdiction  and  paid.  This  simple  and  equit- 
able law  did  away  with  costly  and  intricate  "classifications" 
of  freight,  which  were  recognized  as  only  methods  to  secure 
rebates  or  extort  higher  rates.  It  was  actually  found  out 
that  it  cost  no  more  to  transport  a  ton  of  gold  than  a  ton 
of  pig  iron,  a  box  of  oranges  than  a  box  of  potatoes ;  and, 
the  simple  expedient  of  insuring  the  goods  at  their  actual 
value,  as  is  done  in  many  marine  transportation  companies, 
made  the  shipper  safe  for  high  class  freight.  Without 
going  into  details,  this  simply  and  quickly  forced  all  trans- 
portation rates  down  to  this  equitable  basis.  A  large  per- 
centage of  the  roads  went  into  "liquidation,"  but  this  process 
seemed  to  affect  the  "water"  in  the  stocks  and  bonds,  with- 
out impairing  the  roads,  their  equipment  nor  their  ability 
to  carry  freight  and  passengers. 

Of  course  there  were  enormous  losses  due  to  the 
"shrinkage"  in  values  of  stocks  and  bonds,  but  no  actual 
property  was  lost.  Only  certain  people  who  thought  that 
strips  of  paper  representing  an  "indebtedness  that  had  never 
been  incurred"  were  wealth,  found  out  the  true  value  of  the 
paper,  namely,  the  value  of  the  actual  property  which  the 


27 


actual  money  economically  invested  in  the  road  or  enter- 
prise had  produced,  plus  the  reasonable  value  of  the  service 
this  form  of  stored  wealth  rendered  to  the  community.  This 
shrinkage  ranged  from  two-thirds  to  five-sixths  or  even 
more,  of  the  so-called  ''face"  or  par  value  of  the  stocks  and 
bonds,  as  a  shrewd  Japanese  professor  remarked,  ''they  had 
saved  a  fraction  of  their  face." 

There  had  been  a  fictitious  value  added  to  these  stocks 
and  bonds  so  long  as  they  stood  as  '^evidence  of  an  indebt- 
edness which  had  never  been  incurred,"  and  the  country 
permitted  charges  to  be  made  sufficiently  high  to  maintain 
this  fictitious  value.  But  this  transaction  no  more  pro- 
duced actual  wealth  than  recoining  money  and  stamping 
treble  its  value  cn  its  face  would  create  new  gold;  in  other 
words,  the  mere  transformation  of  the  form  of  wealth  cre- 
ated no  new  wealth. 

This  difference,  between  the  actual  value  of  the  wealth 
used  in  the  construction  and  equipment  of  a  railroad,  and 
the  service  it  rendered  the  country,  and  the  total  face  and 
par  value  of  its  stocks  and  bonds,  was  "the  water,"  which 
went  into  "liquidation,"  and  was  efifectually  "squeezed  out" 
by  the  ownership  and  operation,  on  just  and  equitable  prin- 
ciples, of  a  single  line  of  transcontinental  road ! 

This  effectively  put  a  stop  to  discrimination  and  re- 
bates. There  could  be  no  monopoly  of  crude  nor  of  manu- 
factured products.  ^Monopoly  simply  "died  of  inanition." 
The  enormous,  real  and  permanent  stimulus  to  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  every  industry,  and  the  equitable  distribu- 
tion of  profits  among  the  real  producers,  can  hardly  be  esti- 
mated or  appreciated.  AMien  a  man  raises  oranges  in  Por- 
terville,  Cal.,  and  ships  them  to  Xew  York  or  Chicago  at 
equitable  rates,  and  actually  receives  the  bulk  of  the  profit 
between  the  sale  price  of  the  oranges  and  the  cost  of  rais- 
ing and  packing  them,  he  simply  grows  wealthy ;  he  can- 
not be  stopped  except  by  sheer  laziness  or  worthlessness 
on  his  own  part.  It  is  the  same  with  all  other  products ; 
the  most  notable  instance  is  the  cotton  crop.  This  crop  has 
been  found  to  be  so  peculiarly  suited  to  the  delicate  balance 
of  soil  conditions,  temperature  and  moisture  found  in  the 
South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States,  that  no  other  part  of  the 
world  can  compete  in  its  production.  The  home  mills  can 
now  consume  over  two-thirds  the  annual  crop  and  the  sur- 
plus is  contracted  for  by  British  factories,  at  fair  figures  for 
the  coming  fifteen  years,  or  until  1929."^ 

When  the  actual  profits  upon  the  well  directed  ener- 
gies of  ICQ  millions  of  intelligent  people  ceased  to  be  swal- 
lowed up  in  interest  and  dividends  upon  fictitious  values, 
and  began  to  be  equitably  distributed  among  those  engaged 

*This  is  causing  at  the  present  time  terrible  poverty* 
and  suft'ering  in  Japan  and  China. — Eds. 


28 


in  the  various  processes  of  production  and  transfer,  recu- 
peration from  the  terrible  results  of  the  war  was  rapid. 

The  most  distressing  of  the  many  distressing  results 
were  and  are  yet  in  the  great  city  of  New  York. 

Deprived  of  the  principal  sources  of  income,  namely, 
illegal  profits  by  trading  in  and  cornering  these  ''evidences 
of  indebtedness  which  had  never  been  incurred,"  and  with- 
out sufficient  occupation  for  the  great  army  of  clerks,  sten- 
ographers and  other  employees  of  bankers,  brokers,  etc., 
her  condition  was  for  some  time  pitiful.  But  the  transfer 
of  these  unfortunates  to  the  towns  growing  up  in  the  great 
irrigated  regions  relieved  this.  Nevertheless,  the  distress 
in  part  continues,  for  rents  and  values  have  continued  to 
shrink,  as  the  population  has  fallen  off  nearly  three-quarters 
of  a  million,  and  is  still  decreasing. 

Similar  corxditions  prevail  in  other  minor  ''financial 
centers,"  but  these,  too,  are  in  process  of  alleviation  by  the 
great  and  new  developments  in  agriculture,  which  has  be- 
come so  attractive  and  profitable  a  science  that  the  most 
ambitious  and  energetic  people  follow  it. 

Still,  in  the  review  of  results,  it  is  manifest  to  the  phil- 
osopher and  the  economist,  that  the  price  of  this  war  has  not 
been  too  great.  We  have  lost,  it  is  true,  all  control  of  the 
commerce  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  may  never  regain  it, 
but  we  have  gained  control  of  that  of  our  own  country.  We 
have  learned  that  there  shall  be  no  monopoly  in  transporta- 
tion is  the  prime,  essential  law  of  prosperity. 

There  is  another  class  who  now  see  this  war  and  its  cost 
and  lessons  in  a  truer,  better  light.  This  class  is  the  great 
army  of  men  and  women  who  from  childhood  learned  to 
sing  the  words  and  music  of  the  patriotic  songs  of  our 
country  without  learning  the  meaning.  They  had  learned 
the  words  and  tunes  in  the  schools  of  their  country,  but  had 
not  learned  the  meaning  in  their  homes.  In  a  general  way 
they  loved  these  songs — but  they  had  not  learned  to  feel 
and  love  the  patriotism  that  swelled  and  burst  forth  from 
the  hearts  that  wrote  them.  But  this  war  and  its  trials  and 
humiliation  has  burned  this  true  meaning,  this  true  love, 
into  their  very  souls  ;  and  now,  when  with  bursting  hearts 
and  tearful  eyes  they  teach  them  to  their  children  in  the 
home,  ihe  true  meaning  is  learned,  to  be  passed  on  to  their 
children's  children. 


